Unnatural Selection
by XxLadyVerlacxX
Summary: Caught between two worlds, Lyza must struggle with being a genetically altered human-augment. She is the only one of her kind, trapped between two worlds. As she struggles to figure out who she is, she must also untangle her mess of emotions for the man who made her this way. - Khan/OFC, Slowmance, begins pre-Into Darkness and will continue past the movie. M for smut and gore.
1. Chapter 1: Euphoria

**Unnatural Selection**

**Chapter One: Euphoria**

**So this is going to be my second multi-chapter fanfic. As I am writing this chapter I still have not finished my other story **_**The Lady of Mischief**_** (Loki/OFC) so I will be slow on updates as I want to update both stories regularly (or as often as I can manage). I am very excited to write this story though because unlike my other one, which had already had an established romance between my characters at the beginning of the story, **_**Unnatural Selection**_** will be more of a slowmance. I will also be posting playlists and taking scenario suggestions for this story which I did not do in my last one. I'm hoping this one will end up being lots of fun!**

**This is my first Star Trek fanfic. I watched some of the Next Generation with my parents last summer and I loved it. I'm also a big fan of the new alternate universe movies. Into Darkness was particularly inspiring, I loved Benedict Cumberbatch's acting as Khan Noonien Singh. He portrayed him as cold but with just enough "humanity" that left me keeling over in feels. (I always fall for the villains, I think it's a serious problem. I know they're ruthless but I just can't stop seeing them as helpless puppies that need my love!) **

**Regardless, this story will be M rated for language, gore, and suggestive content later on in the story. I will have warnings posted for extreme cases of violence, triggers, and smut on certain chapters so readers can skip those parts if they wish. The pairing is Khan/OFC. My female character is my own original idea, so please do not steal her, but everything else is owned by whomever owns the copyright to Star Trek. The story will be told in first person from the point of view of my OC.**

**As I am a senior in high school who is still working on bettering my writing, comments including praise and constructive criticism are welcomed. I do not mind guest reviews. All I ask is that you do not be rude or demeaning. I am a growing writer who needs encouragement, not verbal attacks meant only to put me down. If you don't want to submit your review on the story, or just want to talk, my inbox is always open :)**

**So without further ado... Enjoy!**

I was drifting... drifting ever downward into spiraling darkness. I could feel nothing. No emotion, no worry, not even a single thought could pierce the great nothingness that was my unconscious euphoria. My mind was as blank as a moonless night. I could not move, or even feel any part of myself. But none of it mattered, because in the calm night that was my mind, I was safe.

Safe from what? I struggled to form a thought, a memory, about what it was I wanted to hide from, but failed, and my mind limply fell back in defeat. I was safe. That was all that mattered. Or at least, I thought it mattered. I couldn't tell any more about what mattered and what didn't. I did not care. There was nothing in this dark expanse that could possibly matter.

A wave of sedation fell over me, and I no longer thought anything. What tiny bit of mental awareness I had was erased, and once again I just existed, hibernating within myself. But it did not stay this way for long.

Later, I was aware again, though still in the dark, it was no longer quiet. I could hear voices, and when I feebly concentrated, I could listen to what they had to say.

"Captain, you should go, someone else will sit with her until she wakes," the first voice implored.

The voice that replied was deep and velvety smooth. "No. I want to be the first thing she sees when she wakes up."

Silence.

I shivered. I had not the slightest inkling why, but something about the second voice put me on edge. With the feeling of unease came another companion; fear. I feared the voice. It awoke bad memories, memories of blood and death. I thrashed uncontrollably, trying to escape the monster with the seductive voice.

"She's coming around, but she's not finished yet. Sedate her again," The smooth voice ordered.

I heard someone scramble towards me, and another surge of calm overcame me. I returned to being still, relaxed once more, and unable to hear the voices. I did not care though, I was safe again, safe from the fears the second voice had recognized.

Memories swam over me in a blurred swirl. I could see small remembrances, little moments. Some of them were bright and happy, but most were traumatic. I was sure they were mine. They felt familiar... I grasped onto the most tangible one, pulling it closer and closer until I could focus on it. Immediately a chain reaction of recollection occurred, drowning me in my own reminiscences.

_I hurried down the metal corridor. I knew something was wrong. He should have come for me. My father said he would meet me at the compound entrance so we could go out for the evening. He usually never left the research compound he so religiously worked at. But when he made plans with me he would always keep his word. _

_That's how I knew. Something had to be wrong for him to be an hour late, and I knew exactly where he would be; his lab. _

_It was where I was rushing to now. I didn't know what the hell I would do when I found him. If he was injured or being attacked I wouldn't be able to do anything to help him. I couldn't call security, the bulk of them had left for the evening and returned home. I could only hope that maybe he'd just gotten caught up in an experiment or something work-related and forgotten the time._

_When I reached his office, though, an overwhelming sense of wrong pervaded me. The door to the lab was ripped open and the guards who were supposed to stand outside the lab were dead. As I got closer, I could see they were covered in their own blood and some weird gray matter. A horrible realization occurred as I saw that their heads had been crushed, the gray matter their brains. _

_I choked out a strangled gasp of terror and backed away from the bodies. It was as I took my second step back that I stepped on large piece of skull, crushing it beneath my feet, covering my shoe in blood and brains. _

_I screamed._

_Two men rushed from the room upon hearing me. I knew them. They were my father's wild beauties. Beings he had created to be much stronger and smarter than ordinary humans. Now they were attacking their creators. Humans were now their prey, and I had stumbled upon the predators mid-hunt._

_The one that grabbed me was a blond. He was accompanied by a male with strange red hair, the same scarlet color as the guard's blood. He pulled me forward, stony-faced, into the frightening scene that was my father's lab._

_What I saw I will never forget. My father lay sprawled against the wall limbs bent at awkward angles... broken. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. A handsome man in black stood over him, a bloody scalpel gripped in his fist. It was easy to see what he'd used it for, to gauge out my father's eye._

_"Tell me your secret," the man ordered, his voice smooth._

_My father did not answer him, he merely rolled his head to the side, his remaining eye widening in terror as he saw me. He whispered my name in fear._

_His torturer followed his gaze and smirked as I was caught in his cold stare. He bent down so he was on eye level with my father. Grabbing him roughly by his shirt he lifted him so that their noses were only inches apart, the action causing my father to moan in pain. When he spoke his tone was frigid._

_"Well, if I can't have your knowledge, I'll just take your daughter," he promised. "You, old man, I have no more use for."_

_I could hear my heart beating rapidly in my chest as the man slid the scalpel over my father's throat, slashing his carotid artery open. Blood sputtered from the wound, spraying all over the man who had just killed my father in front of me._

_I struggled against the strength of the blond who held me captive, but soon I was weakened enough by all that was happening that I gave up. Tears burned in the corner of my eyes, and I leaned over and vomited at the sight of my father's blood pooling on the tiled floor. This was not happening. How had things gotten so out of control? The experiments had always been kept under careful supervision, yet here they were, running feral through the bunker, slaughtering everyone. _

_The handsome man wiped the blood from his hands and looked at me, his gaze not as hard as before. He seemed thoughtful about what to do with me, like I was some prize he was considering where to hang. I wished he would just kill me, like he did to everyone else. I knew that that would not be the case though. He had just told my father that was taking me in recompense for some information he had withheld, but what did that mean for me? I had no idea. _

_"Bring the girl to the operating theatre, I have plans for her," he barked to the man holding me._

_I lifted my head at this. Was he going to torture me? Was that his plan?_

_"What are you going to do? Mutilate me?" I half-sobbed._

_He tilted his head, "Oh, my dear, I have bigger plans for you, my..."_

I shuddered the horrible memory away and another took its place. This one was from before. It was bittersweet, for it was the moment I'd first felt the looming darkness.

_"Isn't he marvelous?" my father bragged, gesturing to the man in the room in front of me. _

_While he did look like a normal human on the outside, albeit he was much more perfect looking, with his dark brown hair. His handsome features were what every male model on earth would give anything for. My gaze swept over his high cheekbones and classically built jaw line. He was absolutely amazing for being my father's first genetically engineered augment. Still, the wild look in his grayish-blue eyes made me uncomfortable. His gaze was more that of animal._

_I was told that augmentation of the human DNA molecule was the next evolutionary imperative for our species. An egg was harvested and fertilized in a Petri dish. DNA could then be augmented in the earliest stages of fetal development. The pregnancy carried to term as a normal one would, with the human augment being born nine months after the fertilized egg had been placed in the mother. The resulting child born with augment DNA was five times stronger and two times more intelligent than regular humans as well as being remarkably agile. They were resistant to sickness, had enhanced senses, possessed heart muscles twice as strong, and lung efficiency fifty-percent better. Their blood contained platelets capable of regenerating from any disease or toxin, which could in turn be used in transfusions to cure terminally ill patients. My father had also concluded that they would live the equivalent of four human lifetimes based of the rate of aging in their cells. But the augmentation process was not yet ready to be used on a mass scale. There was a defect in their genome, or so one of the other scientists had informed me, but my father was ignoring this problem. _

_The augments the facility had bred, all three-hundred and fifty of them were aggressive, arrogant, and overtly ambitious, with a diminished sense of morality. It had been considered that the defect could be fixed before incubating the embryos, but since they had little idea how the defect occurred, there was no inkling on how to fix it. _

_For this reason the augments made me uneasy. Things that had so little sense of the worth of other things shouldn't have been allowed to exist. They should have been destroyed as failures, but now the potential for the first augment generation to be used as living weapons was now being considered. I had heard that this augment standing in front of me, the first to be born at the bunker back in 1970, was the worst. He was supposedly the alpha male of the augments here._

_I shifted my gaze away from the augments eyes. "Yes, Dad," I mumbled. "He's... perfect."_

_The augment cocked his head, his gaze falling on me as I spoke._

_"His name is Khan. Khan Noonien Singh. His mother was one of the Mongol women here," My father informed me._

_I looked over him quickly. "But he's so pale? I mean, his hair is dark enough to be from the Mongol genome but other than that... Are you sure he's not French?"_

_"You are partly correct," My father shook his head, "Khan is not full Mongol. His biological father is French. That's where the pale looks and high cheekbones come from. His mother gave him a Sikh name though."_

_Then my father turned to Khan, who had been standing tall with his hands resting at his side's the entire time, and spoke to him as he would a child. I found it ridiculous considering Khan was supposed to be twice as smart as him._

_"Now, Khan, allow me to introduce to you my daughter, Lyza. She will now be living here in the compound like most of the other staff's family. You will be seeing more of her, as I feel some interaction with people other than your own will be beneficial for you, understand?"_

_Khan nodded and took a step toward me. When he spoke his voice was velvety and deep. "I trust she will be most..."_

Lyza. He had called me Lyza. That was my name. I was Lyza. Lyza was me. So then these were my memories after all.

Suddenly I felt myself being pulled out of my darkness, my safe place. Just like before, a wave swept over me. But this wave was not one of sedation, but of awareness. My body began to respond to the effects of the drug meant to bring me to consciousness almost immediately. My mind jump started to rewire itself back on line, thoughts and ideas buzzing through my head faster and much more puzzling than I wanted, trying to process the situation so inaccurately I was left confused. All I could hold onto were the memories and my name, Lyza.

I fought the drug, trying to remain in my dark euphoria, but my body betrayed me. Slowly, sounds and smells were flooding though me, and before I knew it, my eyes began to flutter open.

**Author's Note: So there's the first chapter. I hope the rest of them will be longer than this one. Please review and tell me if you like it. I will start taking plot/scenario suggestions after the next chapter. Until then I hope I don't bore you too much. **

**Kisses,**

**XxLadyVerlacxX**


	2. Chapter 2: The Velvet-Voiced Monster

**Unnatural Selection**

**Chapter Two: The Velvet-Voiced Monster**

**Alright, here's the next chapter! We'll actually have some real Khan/Lyza interaction here, as well as the introduction of some of the more important Augments, who I will begin bringing into the story now to add to the plot.**

**I do not own Star Trek, I only own Lyza, and the Augments I created.**

**Enjoy **

The first thing that I saw when I opened my eyes was a blinding glare of white light. Was I dead? Had the voices I'd been hearing those of angels? The rational part of my now reeling brain rose above the utter confusion of my thoughts to form a resolute no. I was not in some odd heaven because heaven didn't have hard hospital beds and scratchy sheets. I was alive, and in an infirmary most likely.

It was quiet at first, but as I began to stir from my unconsciousness I heard muttering above me. I struggled to discern the words they were speaking but could make out some of the things they murmured:

"She survived," a quiet voice mused. "She's stronger than I thought.

"Hush, she's opening her eyes," a more concise voice silenced the first.

"Can she see us?" the smooth voice from my earlier hallucinations asked.

"Her eyes must adjust to the light, give her a moment, her pupils are far too dilated to allow her to see anything other than the light," the second voice replied. "Here, this should help her."

A shadow moved over the blinding white over me, causing a dark shape to appear in my vision. I jumped up at the sensation of drops falling into my eyes. The drops burned and I twisted and groaned a little in shock, closing my eyes tightly.

At my sudden thrashing I was restrained and pushed against the bed, my arms being held at my sides. The one who held me in their grip was strong, much stronger than a normal person, and they had me incapacitated like I was a feather they were holding down with their pinkie. Under the iron grip of the person holding me, I relaxed my body back against the bed, submitting to their superior strength.

When they felt me go limp they let go of one of my arms and brought their hand to my cheek, cupping my face gently. The gesture was soft and somewhat comforting. It was exactly what I needed. This small reassurance that told me that I was somewhere safe, somewhere I could be at ease, made me feel less apprehensive about my situation.

"Open your eyes, Lyza," the smooth voice, which obviously belonged to the person holding me, beckoned. "Open your eyes and feel the new life within your veins. Open your eyes, for I am here."

I wanted so badly to see that one comforting me, the one caressing me, the one who was waiting to wake me from my slumber. His voice was so perfect and velvety, how could this voice belong to anyone but an angel? So slowly, I let my eyes flutter open.

The drops that were put in my eyes must have been an anti-dilator, because as soon as I focused on the man standing above me, he took shape.

His hair was dark brown, and slicked back, but a fringe of it had escaped and was falling over his face into his bluish-grey eyes. The pale complexion of his skin starkly contrasted in an almost poetic way with his hair. His cheekbones were sharp and angular, and his cupid bow lips were pressed together in a firm line. His face was stretched with tension as he stared down at me expectantly.

It was when I saw him clearly, my eyes focused on him, that he spoke again, with his velvety-smooth voice. "Lyza, you're perfect," he breathed.

Then it clicked. The smooth voice and the man standing above me became one, and the fear I'd thought I'd imagined in my unconscious euphoria was reawakened. This man was the one who'd caused pain. He had hurt people, killed my own father in front of me. The memories of what he'd done swarmed me, enveloped me in a terror so primal that I could not think properly.

Khan. My father's velvet-voiced monster.

I leapt off the hospital bed, the sheet over me falling to the ground as I winched at the sudden cold of the tiled floor on my bare feet. I was dressed in only a pale blue dressing gown, with nothing at all underneath. I felt groggy and sore all over, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was getting away from Khan. He terrified me to the point of irrationality.

At my sudden movement, Khan came around the other side of the bed, hands up in a nonthreatening way, and began approaching me slowly. He moved slowly, but so gracefully, like a cat. I couldn't hear the sound of his footsteps at all.

As he came closer to me I backed up until I was up against the wall. My breathing was hard, my chest rising and falling rapidly as my pulse quicken. It was as I locked my eyes on Khan that I realized we were not alone in the room. A man with a mess of copper-curls, and the blond who'd restrained me earlier were standing by the door on the other end of the room, glancing anxiously at me like I was a cornered animal who might strike. At the moment I felt that way.

They smelled clean, so they must have been more of my father's Augments. I stiffened, I hadn't been able to distinguish smells between the Augments and humans before. But now that I noticed it, my vision was much more defined and I could hear everyone's breathing clearly. A single thought ran through my mind.

_Heightened senses? Wasn't that one of the abilities the-_

Oh no. It couldn't be. I'd been told it was impossible to genetically-augment a human out of the womb. Theoretically, it shouldn't have been capable to manipulate my DNA now that it was established in my cells and actively copying throughout my body. Genetic mutation shouldn't have been able to successfully occur. Then again, Khan and the other Augments had been designed to be twice as intelligent as normal humans, they probably had been able to crack the enigma surrounding mass augmentation of fully developed humans.

Khan must have noticed the shocked look on my face. "Yes, Lyza. You are an Augment. Wix, my medical chief, discovered that humans could be augmented despite your father's belief. You're one of us. You're better than everyone else."

The copper haired man whom Khan had gestured to – Wix, I mentally corrected, stepped toward me.

"We injected you with Augment blood as we changed you DNA, in fact, we practically swapped a decent amount of your blood with Khan's. Don't worry though, your own DNA will take over and change it to mutate to your genetic structure. You will feel somewhat odd and a little stiff for a few hours, but you will survive. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to check your vitals," He explained in a lilting French accent as he continued to stride purposefully toward me.

I plastered myself even closer to the wall, wishing I had an escape. I didn't want to be poked and prodded anymore. This was what Khan had wanted with me, he wanted me to be an Augment, so that he could change me to be like him, a monster. How ironic he must have thought it to be, to change his creator's daughter into one of the monsters that had destroyed his work.

Before Wix could get any closer to me, Khan stopped him, gesturing for him to move back to the door with the blond. The doctor immediately complied without hesitation, and I immediately understood that when I'd been told Khan was the "alpha male" no one had been kidding. Wix listened to him immediately, outright obedient despite the fact that he could probably pose a genuine threat to Khan if he wanted to.

"I know this is confusing for you Lyza, but you need to relax, you are not yet fully recovered from the augmentation process. You need to continue to rest. As an augment, you are one of my people. That makes you under my care and responsibility now. I cannot – will not have you hurt yourself," he threatened me softly, "If you do not go back to bed willingly, Saf and I will restrain you, and I will allow Wix to sedate you."

I stiffened, remembering my earlier sedation. I had been safe in my mind, but I had hated the utter loss of control of my thoughts and feelings, the complete and utter confusion I'd suffered while I had been under. My mind was racing now, processing things faster than I had ever thought possible, another one of the characteristics of being an Augment. Feeling this kind of heightened function of my neural processes, I did not want to be slowed in such a way that drugged unconsciousness created.

"Lyza," he drew my attention back to him. "Are you going to make this easy or hard?"

I knew what I wanted. And what I didn't want was to be sedated. I couldn't bear that loss of control again. I would make this easy, especially if it meant that I would be given time to work my situation out. Reluctantly, I spoke, and when I heard my voice I was glad my alteration to being an Augment had not changed that part of me. My voice was still the same soft soprano.

"I – I will rest," I surrendered, voice shaking as I rasped out my request. "But not here. I hate hospitals… At least allow me to rest in my own rooms – please."

I waited nervously as Khan fixed his gaze on mine, considering my request. I hoped I had stated it politely enough. I'd said please, therefore insinuating that where I slept was at his bequest. Maybe I should have added some type of respectful title like 'sir' at the end of my statement. Khan seemed like one of those men who wanted to be addressed as a superior. I doubted informalities were the way into his good graces.

"Saf, fetch Astrix and have her take Lyza to her room, tell her to stand outside her door so as to make sure that Lyza does indeed rest," Khan ordered the blond in the doorway, who immediately proceeded to exit the infirmary. Again, I was amazed by the absolute obedience Khan derived from the other augments. How had he won such power over them?

Then he turned back to me. "I mean it, Lyza. If you do not do what I tell you to, if Astrix tells me that you were even slightly disobedient, I will punish you. Understood?"

I nodded meekly, wishing I could just hurry and leave. "Yes. I do."

"Good. Wait here until Astrix comes," he instructed me sternly. "Wix, if you would come with me, I have matters I wish to discuss with you as you are my only medical officer."

I exhaled sharply in relief as Khan and Wix exited the room too, leaving me alone. I looked around at the long, white hospital. I'd never been in the infirmary before, I had never really had the occasion to be here, as I hadn't been sick or hurt in all my time I been at the bunker. I was in the far corner by the double, paned glass doors. There were about twenty beds along the far side of the wall all on the same side as the bed I'd woken in.

The infirmary was all clinical white, with stainless steel equipment placed randomly around. Most of the furniture was dusty, the bed sheets perfectly tucked, unused. The purpose of the bunker hospital was to care for the augments in case they were injured, but they all had no need of medical care since they healed so quickly. The few cases that the infirmary saw was when the scientists had wanted to take their weekly blood samples from the augments. Now that Khan was in control of the bunker though, I highly doubted this room would see any use once I vacated it.

I only had to wait for a few minutes for someone to come and get me from my place in the hospital.

The woman who came to collect me was of Mongol descent. Her jet black hair was pulled into a tight bun, she had shadowy brown eyes, and her skin was a dark nut brown color. She was taller and much wirier looking than I was. She had a serious appearance to her and that same animalistic look in her eyes it seemed all the augments had. She had a robe clenched in one of her hands.

As she entered the room she instantly caught sight of me, and stopped, leaving some much welcomed distance between us. Despite now being one of them, the augments still made me uneasy. They possessed a much more primal instinct towards violence that I did not. It was hard to trust something that could kill you with its hands as easily as it could breathe.

The woman, who I assumed to be the Astrix that Khan spoke to me about, tilted her head to the side, studying me.

"Do you intend to follow me to your rooms or are you so traumatized by the operation process that I shall have to carry you?" she spoke first, looking at me with a kind of curiosity.

I refused her appalling suggestion, "I can walk. Are you Astrix?"

"Yes, I am," she replied as she held out the robe she was carrying. "You are Lyza Parker, the only daughter of Dr. Edward Parker, the scientist who took over late Dr. Noonien Singh's position of chief geneticist. Your father was deeply invested in the Chrysalis Project. He moved you both here from America so he could fully commit to the research here. Am I correct?"

"Um… yeah," I confirmed as I took the robe and put it on, thereby eliminating some of the awkwardness of wearing a medical gown with nothing underneath it. She knew way more about me than I did of her. I had never met any of my father's augments personally, well, except Khan. The others I had seen, but not learned their names. I had not felt the need. Astrix must have read my file or something to know so much about my past.

Astrix spun on her heel. "Are you prepared to go?"

"Yes," I responded quietly.

She took off at a brisk walk down the hall at my answer, not bothering to wait to be sure I was keeping up. Her outright coldness was no surprise, she was bred in such a way that she didn't feel immediate compassion or empathy, she was bred to be a soldier, and that was what she was.

My room was on the floor above the bunker, on level B2. It didn't take long to get to it. Level B2 was a residential floor, so while the hallways were still tiled, they were a more homey tan color, and the walls were papered green and blue. The doors were wooden, not metal or glass.

Naturally, Astrix got to my room, 207, faster than me since she walked with so much more drive than I did. I had just kind of meandered my way there a little more slowly, trying to avoid feeling to soreness in my muscles by moving quickly. I had been relieved that I had not had to encounter any more augments during my journey from the infirmary to here.

As I opened my door, I tossed a quick look at Astrix, who was standing to my left, watching me.

"Does he want you to stand guard inside or…?" I trailed off, not really knowing what was supposed to be happening right now.

"I shall remain outside your door. I will not intrude on your privacy, but if you try to leave I will lock you inside and I _will_ tell Khan you disobeyed him," she warned sternly, telling me what I already knew.

I was about to retreat to my rooms when I suddenly felt brave enough to demand an answer from Astrix. I stopped, and gave her my most hard look, which probably just ended up failing due to how exhausted I felt.

"Why did Khan and the rest of your people kill everyone and take over the compound? What were you hoping to achieve?"

She just blinked at me, as if I was asking what the sun was. "Freedom. We are better. Better at everything. Humans created us thinking that they could control us and use us and that we would follow their every whim because we felt like we owed them some sort of _allegiance_."

Then she paused, "And my people are your people, Lyza. You are one of us now. You are free, too."

I shook my head. "I'm not free, and I'm definitely not one of you!" I hissed, before slamming the door to my room, separating Astrix and I.

Alone, in a comforting place for the first time since I'd woken up, I let myself be weak. I fell to my knees, collapsing onto my plush red carpet. I let my breath become uneven and allowed a few tears to escape. This was a nightmare, beyond a nightmare really because it was reality. My reality. A reality I now had to live in. I didn't know what to feel, and that scared me. Diminished morals and lack of feeling was commonplace with the augments. Was I losing my humanity now too?

I could not bring myself to fully process my situation and decide what I would do next. All I wanted to do was sleep, sleep brought peace. I also wanted to be rid of the robe and dressing gown I was in.

Somehow, I managed to find the strength to get up and stumble to my bathroom. Once I was there I immediately undressed and put on my flannel pajamas that I had left hanging on the bathroom door hook. Then I looked at myself in the mirror.

The augmentation process hadn't really changed my looks too drastically. My face was still soft, with freckles speckled on my cheeks and nose. My chocolate brown hair was, as ever, slightly curled, but at the moment is was more tangled and messy. My skin was as pale and fair as before, and my big green eyes remained the same. I was still the same height, about five-eight, with a slight frame that left me looking weedy. My body curved in an easy, hourglass way that left the subtle suggestion that I did indeed have hips. I had been told many times that I looked younger than my eighteen years, and I still did not know whether to take that in a good or bad way. Besides making my angular cheekbones a little more visible I appeared to be still pretty much the same. I was glad. I had never wanted to possess the wild beauty all the augments had.

I was the picture of innocence, all doe-eyed and adorable. Who knew how much of that remained? What I had the augmentation process destroyed in me? Had it made me less moral, like the others? Or way I going to be more aggressive? Would I be able to kill as easily as them without feeling conflicted about it?

I shivered. Maybe this was why Khan had wanted me to be an augment? All the others looked like soldiers, but having me as an assassin would be useful. I could make my way around and kill without anyone guessing that I was dangerous. I hoped that I wouldn't be able to be of use for him. I couldn't imagine taking anyone's life. Not even Khan's.

**So how did I do? Do I still have people's attention or am I dashing everyone's expectations? Please tell me what you think about the augments I introduced, specifically Astrix, and Lyza and Khan's first real moment together.**

**Also, as I said previously, I will be asking for suggestions for scenarios and such. So here is my first reader request thingy! I need to come up with a job for Lyza for when she runs away (spoiler alert). She needs to do something that makes a decent amount of money, is illegal, and keeps her out of public eye. I kind of want her to be a drug runner, selling to college students on campus for some dealer guy, but I am very much open to suggestions. So send me your ideas or whether or not you like mine. Thanks!**

**Kisses,**

**XxLadyVerlacxX**


	3. Chapter 3: A Man Who Can

**Unnatural Selection**

**Chapter Three: A Man Who Can**

**Thanks to all the lovely reviews that you all left after the last chapter. **

**Kat (Guest): I'm glad you like the beginning! I hope I can manage to keep things to your interest **

**Guest: Thanks! I'm glad you like it!**

**Guest: I'll try to update as soon as possible. I'm writing every chance I get^^**

**Kitty in a Cornfield: Lyza isn't going to get all high and mighty like the other augments. She'll always have more humanity than the others. She just needs to figure life out. As for why Khan wants her… you'll have to be patient ;) Yeah I don't want Lyza to be doing something that hurts innocent people but I feel like she needs to be doing something a little more shadowy to avoid public eye. I hope you like my merged idea for Lyza's job.**

**fjkemp: As always thank you for your continued support 3 I enjoy making Khan very alpha. I feel like he needs to have that quality in him. I am going to add much more tension between the two as time goes on, and eventually that tension is going to burst and what happens will be so much fun! XD I took your advice while I was considering Lyza and what she'll be doing and I liked your courier suggestion. I'm also very glad you like Astrix. She'll be important to Lyza throughout the story.**

**pjfunnybunny: I'll try to update as soon as possible. I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

**I thank you for your support! I appreciate your ideas and I think I am going to merge two ideas together and have Lyza be a courier for an arms dealer. That way she's doing illegal things like I need her to be, but she's also not some black market criminal mastermind. I want Lyza to remain innocent for the time being, so that I have something to twist, ruin, and play around with in the coming chapters. Now on with the show!**

I woke up, my face buried in my bed pillows. I had had the best sleep I'd ever experienced. I guessed that it was due to my recent augmentation and all the stress I'd been put through that had led me to be so damn exhausted.

The first thing I noticed when I got to my feet was how _good_ I felt. My senses were just an enhanced as I remembered them being yesterday. Everything looked, smelled, and even sounded so… clear. My mind was processing things and running efficiently already even though I'd just gotten up. I also felt strong. Not five times as strong as I had been, but definitely better than before. I felt like I could run ten miles before breakfast with ease.

I stretched, enjoying the feel of my muscles responding and my bones popping, feeling much more alive than I'd ever felt. But I sensed no change in my personality. Brutality still sickened me, I hated violence, and the memory of the dead guards continued to make my chest tighten unhappily. Maybe I would get to keep my humanity, making me better than the others. I still felt human. Did that alone mean I remain what I once was? After all, I was not morally hindered or sociopathic. But at the same time, Khan had made it very clear that I belonged to him. So what was I? Human or augment?

Shaking away the looming discomfort with what side I was on, I headed to the bathroom. I closed the door and stripped down. I coaxed hot water from the pipes and once the temperature was to my preference, I stepped into the shower.

I stood under the showerhead, letting the steam and heated water wash away any last remnants of stiff muscles. Then I grabbed my shampoo bottle and attacked my tangled, ratty mess of hair. It took two washes to get it soft and clean again, but once it was I felt much better. After I had taken care of my hair I lathered my body with cocoa butter soap, rinsed off, and then left the shower so I could grab my towel and dry my skin.

Later, in my room, I got dressed in a long sleeve, black V-neck, a pair of gray leggings, and my favorite pair of yellow, high-top converse. I threw my hair up in a sloppy ponytail, and set about picking up all the clothes I'd left discarded around my rooms since I gotten back last night.

I was a very clean person, and my room reflected that. The red carpet was stainless and vacuumed often, the soft blue walls weren't cluttered with posters, they were mostly blank except for some random photos by my desk of the friends I'd left back in Maine when my father had moved us here. My dresser and desk were immaculate on top, all the drawers were neat. Normally I would have spaced out a bit more, made things just a tinsy bit chaotic, but I hated this place.

I had left everything so clean and impersonalized in this room because I refused to set down roots here. I resented my father's decision to move me to the compound, and my lack of character in this place had been my silent backlash to him that I hadn't wanted to be in this stupid bunker. The way I had left things in this room made it so that when the time came I could pick up and leave without ever feeling regrets. Now I was glad I'd made this decision. I was upset that my father was dead, along with a multitude of others, and that Khan had taken over, but it did not feel like he had taken over my home. I did not consider this place anything special.

If he had only listened to me. If only my father had listened to my near daily rants about how the Chrysalis Program was wrong, that Khan and his people shouldn't have been taken so lightly and treated like children, least of all allowed to exist in the first place. It was stupidly foolish to treat things that could snap your neck in an instant like they were and would always be completely compliant. They were living weapons, born and bred to kill. They were not loyal puppies like my father and the others had thought. That lax of attention and thought, blinded by their grand ideas for the applications of their augments, had been the downfall of those running the program. What a way to go, killed by their own war machines.

_And you're one of them now,_ a little voice in the back of my head taunted. _You are Khan's, and he will shape you into whatever he wants and you will lose what little of your true self remains!_

I shook my head, trying to dispel the repulsive, pessimistic thoughts. I was human, I was born human, I had lived human, and I would _remain_ human! There was nothing, save genetic mutation, that connected me with the rest of the augments, and I would make sure it stayed that way.

How quickly life had changed. It felt like just yesterday I'd moved to the compound, and now my father was dead and his experiments were running all amuck all over the facilities.

I wondered if that was why Khan had really kept me alive, because of the way I'd always treated him compared to everyone else. Whereas the scientists of the Chrysalis Program had treated Khan and the others like they were easily controlled and somewhat stupid children, I had always deferred to showing him respect.

My father had introduced me to Khan Noonien Singh three months ago, with the full intentions that I would be the older augment's "babysitter". It was stupid really. Once or twice a week he would make me leave the Turkish complex, taking Khan with me, and go to the nearest city to interact and give his alpha male some much needed air. Khan, being twenty-six and much more knowledgeable in the world, had really been babysitting me. There were times in the cities when I would wander off alone and get some much unwanted attention from groups of men that seemed to wander the street looking for women to objectify. I was not one who considered myself a damsel in distress or someone who constantly required saving, but thankfully Khan would be looking out for me and deter the men from their course of action, several times by pretending to be my husband. It took only a few weeks of this reoccurring event for me to stay by Khan's side as we suffered the awkward afternoons together. We never really spoke, but when I did say things to him it was with the utmost esteem mixed with the smallest bit of fear. I was right to fear him, I knew and acknowledged what he could do to me if he really desired to hurt me. Though it had never been clear to anyone else, Khan and I knew the truth. On those days we went out to face the world together, he was my guard.

Maybe this was why he spared me. He liked being obeyed and having loyal underlings that was clear enough to anyone. Maybe he had no intentions to make me into some superior assassin or one of his soldiers. Maybe this was his way of paying me back for treating him with the veneration he deserved. It seemed like it could make sense, my reasoning was sound. I submitted to his superiority, so he may have decided to spare my life and reward me by allowing me to join his select group of elite people.

Secretly I knew that that could not be the only reason, if it even factored into why he'd kept me at all. This was Khan Noonien Singh I was thinking of. He was not some helpless puppy, he was a killing machine, a biologically engineered super warrior who possessed far more intellectual capacity than normal humans. He did not do things out of the goodness of his ice cold heart.

My pondering was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door to my rooms. Apparently this was all the privacy I was to be granted this morning.

Sighing, I walked to the door and tried to compose my face into a cool mask so I could erase any evidence of what I'd been thinking about. I swung the door open to discover Astrix waiting, looking just as calm as I wanted to feel, her hand still raised as if she had intended to knock again.

She was still wearing the same clothes from last night, so I wondered if she had really stayed outside my door and stood guard for that entire duration I had been sleeping. Still, missing one night of sleep must not have affected her very much, she nevertheless looked as crisp and alert as she had yesterday. It must have been an augment thing, the ability to go without sleep for a while and still function at peak energy.

"Master Khan wishes to see you on level B5 immediately," She said, not bothering to greet me. "He ordered me to bring you to him as soon as you were ready. I was about to wake you if you were not previously."

"Yeah I was already up and at 'em," I lamented dryly. "I woke up thinking hoping that this was all just a really fucked up dream but apparently I'm not that lucky."

Astrix raised an eyebrow, "It may be a nightmare to you, but for those of us who actually suffered at the hands of the scientists here, Master Khan's revolution is a blessing."

"Oh please," I sneered. "What suffering have you known? You've lived a sheltered life here at the bunker. I lost my mother when I was ten. I watched her shoot herself because she was depressed by my father's lack of commitment to our family because of his dedication to this stupid project! I was uprooted from my home in Maine to come and live virtually alone in this hell hole. How can anything you've been through as a spoiled little experiment even begin to compare?!"

"I understand suffering more so than you may believe," Astrix's mouth pressed into a firm line. "Master Khan is waiting for you. Level B5, the conference room. I would not keep him."

Then she strode away down the hall and up the stairs to the upper levels. Obviously she had been expected to escort me, but my comment must have made her too upset to be in my presence. She probably did not trust herself to avoid hurting me considering how the augments temper seemed to flare and they would suddenly turn –

Temper flares. Very sporadic, random temper flares, that what I'd just done. Generally I considered myself a very cool-mannered person. I was usually level-headed and it was quite rare that I yelled at people as I had just done to Astrix. Shit. I would have to control that aspect of my new self. I had said some very nasty, bitter things, even if Astrix had deserved it by parroting her stupid "freedom and liberation" trash.

I shuddered at what I'd told her about my mother. Only two people knew the truth about that, me and my father, and he was dead now. I had never told even my best friends about that, yet I had just now blabbed my sob story to some augment I had met yesterday in a fit of blind fury. Great, things were looking really up for the state of my humanity.

I exhaled sharply, and exited my room, closing the door behind me. Then I began to make my way towards the elevator so I could head to B5. Astrix was right. It would not do to keep Khan waiting.

* * *

When I got down to level B5 I only had to continue a little ways before I reached the small conference room. One of the glass paned doors was propped open, alerting me that I could just come on in. Upon entering the room, I saw how small it was. The cherry table was a kind of oval shape with the short ends straight so that the table had two heads. There were only eight navy colored chairs on both sides and one at the far head of the table nearest the back of the room. It was in this far chair that Khan was sitting, hands resting comfortably on the arms.

"Lyza," he dipped his head in acknowledgment as I came into sight. "Come sit."

I moved to sit in the chair he had gestured to on his right, my head instinctively low as I settled down next to Khan as he appraised me like I was a prize broodmare at the county fair or something.

"You look very well, I knew that you just needed more… time, to get along and adjust properly," he purred as he shifted slightly so that he was facing me a little more.

He waited for me to respond, but I didn't. I had nothing to say. I didn't understand how he wanted me to react or why he'd called me here at all. This meeting between us really seemed to have no purpose, unless he just wanted to gloat about his victory over the humans who had kept him trapped here.

He frowned and leaned forward to cup my chin in his hand, "I noticed that Astrix did not escort you here. Why?"

"I made her angry, I don't think she trusted herself not to hurt me," I mumbled, casting my eyes downward.

Khan's gaze hardened, "What did you say?"

I flinched at the menace in his voice, "I scoffed when she said she had suffered at the hands of the scientists. I told her that she was a spoiled experiment and that she did not know what true pain was."

He released my chin, leaning back in his chair, still maintaining that glare that frightened me. It was an animalistic look of fury. I could not manage to make myself break his gaze though.

"Astrix knows plenty about pain," he told me quietly. "What do you think she was subjected to by the male scientists in the Chrysalis Program? They were needy, piggish men, and she is a magnificent female augment."

I let his words sink in, realizing just how much I had been wrong. Astrix had suffered plenty. No wonder she hated humans, the male scientists had raped her and treated her like less than a person. She had more than enough reason to want all of them dead and join Khan's revolt. Now I felt like a total ass. My life's tragedies were nothing compared to what she had went through.

"Oh," I whispered, horrified.

"Yes, 'oh' is one way to put it. It pains me to know that this happened to one of my own people and I was powerless to stop it lest I risk the entire revolt and with it the freedom of my family," he sighed, softening again.

"I allowed you to live for this reason, Lyza," He flicked his gaze back to me, caressing my cheek with the back of his hand, his touch sending both a shiver and an odd heat flooding through me. "For when we would be tossed together you seemed to _understand_ me. You never made me hate you. If anything, I grew protective. I saw you as superior, better than the common human you should have been. It was why I had to augment you, so that you would be as truly perfect to the rest of the world as I saw you."

My eyes widened at this. He had some creepy fixation with me. That was the only way I could see it. I did not think that Khan Noonien Singh could actually feel anything like affection, so obviously his interest in me bordered on obsession.

"On the other hand I killed your father and the other scientists because they did not realize that they were not as worthy as the augments they had created. Even before they could even dream of solutions I already knew what was wrong with the augmentation process for humans that had already been born. I knew the answers to questions they had not even figured out to ask yet. _I am better… _and I had wasted enough time, twenty-six years of my life, slaving for their wishes and desires, letting them believe that they could actually control me," He snarled.

"When I killed them I was glad to feel their blood on my skin," he continued, then refocused on me. "But do not fear, Lyza. I will never hurt you. You are my family now…"

* * *

I ran back to my room and slammed the door shut behind me, my breathing loud and uneven. He was crazy, there was no doubt about it. He was insane. He had some scary mania for me and sounded like a radical anarchist. I could not stay here. I could not live with him for the rest of my life, however long it ended up being.

With all the care of bat out of hell, I quickly tossed clothes, supplies, and my bag that had all my credit cards and some cash, into a black, military style backpack. I was leaving. I would not stay around and see what Khan was going to do with me next. I refused to watch him go on a destructive rampage and be associated with his monstrous tendencies. I could just pick up and leave; I had nothing tying me here.

I looked at the cover of the large, air ventilation shaft. The shaft led to the bunker's aboveground garage that housed all the staff and facility vehicles, including my jeep. As far as I knew, no one was guarding the garage. I grabbed the keys to my jeep. There would be guards to stand by the gate entrance, but I figured is I drove fast enough my jeep could break through the chain link fence.

I grinned, I had my way out.

**I know that the ending kind of sucked, and that Lyza was a little quiet in this chapter, but I wanted to use this chapter as more of an exploration of her thoughts. I hope you all appreciate Astrix having some back story for why she hates people, and Khan's odd fixation on Lyza. I am just glad I'm getting her out of the bunker, I didn't really like that place much. **

**So, I wonder how our girl will handle herself in the big bad world. And how will Khan react to her being gone? What ends will he resort to to find her? What about what Lyza will do to stay hidden? And what will their reunion be like?**

**All this will be explored in the next chapter! Please leave a review in the little box **

**Kisses,**

**XxLadyVerlacxX**


	4. Chapter 4: Escapism

**Unnatural Selection**

**Chapter Four: Escapism**

**(Three Years Later – Late 1995)**

**Thanks to all the new followers! I'm glad you want to join me on this crazy ride **

It had been three years since I'd escaped from the bunker by crawling through the vents and crashing my jeep through the chain link fence that served as a barrier for the front gate. My jeep had sustained significant damage to its front, but I hadn't had time to worry about that. I had just kept driving until I reached the Turkish capital, Istanbul.

There I had discarded my jeep in some random back alley, and headed on to the city's airport on foot. Thankfully I was eighteen so I could purchase a ticket and travel without suspicion. For all anyone had guessed I was a college student studying abroad. I had taken the first flight out of the country, knowing that I just needed to put as much distance between myself and Khan as quickly as possible before I could feel safe.

The flight I had ended up on had just happened to be to Germany. Once I had landed there I did breathe a little easier. There was now an ocean between the complex and I. After getting off I had taken some time to buy something to eat, and consider my plan.

I had decided that I could not go back to America, Khan would have expected that of me, to return to my home country. He would look for me, that I knew, so I would have to go deep underground. I would need a new identity, and for that I required money. I could not risk using my credit cards anymore, he could track those, so I had chucked them at the Berlin airport. I had still had a little over sixteen hundred in cash left over. Realizing I had to choose a destination, I then promptly bought an airplane ticket to London.

When I had arrived in London I had spent a night in the shadiest looking hotel I could find. The next morning I had begun to make "inquiries" about how a person could disappear and become someone else and who would be able to help me make this possible.

One of the maids had actually been the one to put me in touch with one such person, who happened to be her boyfriend, and that evening I had traveled to the apartment where he conducted his "business". He was cordial enough, if not a little unnerving. He had listened to my predicament and request and had agreed to help me, at the cost of ten thousand dollars.

I had explained to him that I could pay the first ten percent and asked if he would be willing to let me pay him back in pieces, but he had had another idea. He excused himself to make a call and when he returned he had another business proposition for me. He would take my one thousand, and in return for the other nine thousand, I would have to work for a friend whom he owned money to.

Having no other immediate options, I agreed to his terms and within the evening had a new identity; Elizabeth Dryder. I was provided with a social security card, London I.D. and driver license, and credit card. As happy as I had been about all of this, what I had not anticipated was the type of work I would have to perform for his "friend".

I had reported to my new job the next morning. The storefront looked legitimate, it was a shipping company with a messenger service. The man who owned and managed the store, Jeff Rainer, was someone I definitely thought I could work for. He was kind, understanding, and funny, but all this was a cover for his real business, illegal weapons dealing. He would use his business to smuggle in illegal guns and knives, and then he would have his "messengers" carry and deliver the goods to his buyers, who ranged from terrorists to drug dealers to gang members.

I could barely stomach the idea that this was what I had to do to survive every day, but I had come this far, and I could not turn back now or I would have surely been killed, considering I owed nine thousand dollars to the guy who had made me a new identity.

So every day I reported to Jeff, who would give me some sort of "package" to deliver to whomever he had a business deal with. I hated working with his clients. They were too grabby, interested in just more than the goods I was delivering. Thankfully while they would make moves or verbal threats (sometimes both) no one actually ever did anything to me. Jeff did not allow his messenger to be compromised, mostly because it would involve replacing me with someone just as useful. And hell was I useful. I did not ask any unnecessary questions, get in trouble with the authorities, never snitched any of the money, and I always delivered everything perfectly. So if anyone ever got a little too threatening, Jeff sent one of his men after them to make sure they retained some respect for me. It was not the nest situation, but I was surviving, and Khan had not found me, and that was all that mattered.

As for Khan, his ambitions had been bigger than I ever thought possible. After liberating the five hundred or so augments from the bunker he had been raised at, he had moved on to free the augments at the remaining six bunkers who had participated in the Chrysalis Program as well. After acquiring his super-army, he had begun his war of conquest. First he took Turkey, then the Middle East, then Russia, China, and the rest of Asia, declaring himself, Khan Noonien Singh, emperor of New Asia.

He was not alone in his aspirations though. Africa, Europe, and Australia all had augmentation programs of their own, and after Khan's rise to glory the augments had decided to follow suit. In less than a year and a half since I had run away from Khan. Australia, Africa, and the European mainland had fallen to tyrant augment kings and emperors. The United Kingdom and the Americas were the only places where augmentation experiments had not been held to the public's knowledge, and thus were the only places still free from conquest. People feared that it might change though. Who knew how long we would be allowed to remain free human countries?

I of course was not biologically a human, but rather one of the augments that everyone seemed to fear, but in my heart I knew I remained with humanity. I hated the augments, and everything they had taken from me. I was born human, I would remain human. It was something I had whispered to myself every night before I went to bed when I first got to London.

It worried me that Khan had garnered enough support to gain as much power as he possessed now. Sometimes, when I was lying in bed back at my dingy flat near Jeff's store, I wondered if Khan was searching for me. I knew he had to have been. He was too protective of those he thought of as family not to. I only could help but ponder how hard he was trying to find me. Surely as an emperor he had plenty of resources to get the job done and bring me back, but my underground status probably hindered his manhunt for me.

Realistically, I suspected very deep down that he would find me someday, but I prayed that it would be a while yet before he did. I had no desire to return to him anytime soon.

"Liza!" Jeff called as I entered the store (switching the sign to 'Sorry, we're closed') after a successful delivery SFS BFR to a night club owner who dealt with drug exports on the side, smiling wryly at the sound of my name. I had found it ironic that when Jeff had insisted that "Elizabeth" was too much of a mouthful, the nickname he had come up with was actually my real name.

He gestured me over to stand next to him. "How did the delivery go?"

"Perfect, as usual," I replied, setting the messenger bag full of cash onto the store counter top.

Jeff grinned and opened up the bag, pulling out to stacks of one hundred dollars. "Great. Here's your cut."

I took the wads of money from his hands and slid them into my backpack on the floor. While being a weapon courier was difficult at times with awkward hours and terrifying people to deal with, it did make good money and allowed me to be paid in cash so that I never had to go to the bank. This job generally allowed me to never have to use any type of paper trail that would get me found. Everything I did I paid for in cash, like my apartment rent.

"I should have another job for you soon," he mumbled as he returned to the messenger bag counting the stacks of bills just like he did every time I gave him the payment. "I haven't had any orders and I have nothing to export at the moment, but you can come and do some real world work at the shop if you need extra income. I'll even pay in cash. I know you don't like showing your face at banks."

I jumped up to sit on the counter top, watching him count the money. "I don't think I'll be _too_ badly off. I might come in and work the day after tomorrow though. There are only so many days in a row I can stand to stay in my flat and watch crap TV."

"I forgot you don't have cable," he chuckled. "Alright, take the day off. You've pulled three jobs in one week, you deserve a break."

"Thanks, call me when you have something."

"No problem," Jeff shouted as I headed out the door, flipping the sign on the door to 'Open' before I let it fall closed behind me.

I walked the four blocks back to my flat. I did not have a car. I couldn't afford one really. Between gas, insurance, and getting the stupid thing's paperwork all in order I figured I would just forgo the idea. There were plenty of taxies in London and most of the important places I traveled were within walking distance.

I didn't necessarily live in the bad side of town, but it wasn't exactly middle class either. My flat was in the Chinese sector of the city, the bad part of the Chinese section to be sure, but still, the spot had its perks. My flat was above an awesome take-out restaurant that had the best lo Mein noodles in all of London. Most nights, I would pick up dinner there and take it upstairs to my flat.

Tonight, though, I just waved briefly to Mrs. Fu, who owned the restaurant, and headed up the outdoor staircase to get to the little landing that served as my front porch. It wasn't high up enough to give me a nice view or anything, but I liked standing out there at night and taking a glimpse at the stars.

I leaned against the railing of the landing, looking up at the sky. I did not know any constellations or anything, but the sight of all those tiny pinpricks of far off stars made me feel calm, sometimes even content with the life I had here. After all, Khan did not have me, and that was reason enough to be happy.

With my mind drifting on Khan, I could not help but imagine what his life was like now that he was emperor of New Asia. Obviously he was ruling over a mass of people and being superior like he seemed to think he had to, and so far it hadn't appeared that he had done anything _terrible_, besides taking away everyone's freedom. I had heard that life in New Asia was strict, with limitations on excesses by certain people, and harsh punishments for criminals, not to mention the lack of healthcare, but I had never caught wind that Khan was sending his people to death camps or anything. He gave me the impression that he realized that he needed "inferior" people to live in his country or he would have no one to rule and be superior over.

I wondered what his personal life was like these days. He must have been very busy since he was ruling over a country, did he stay up working late at night? Or did he have advisors to do that for him? And what about his military? Had he created more augments? Or had he just kept with the some seven thousand or so he had now? Did he have friends? Or was he alone unless surrounded by those who worked for him?

Was he married? I had seen no indication in any type of media while I'd been in London. Besides, he didn't seem the marrying kind. Though he probably planned to marry sometime. He would want a male heir to rule his kingdom and continue his legacy once he was gone. He probably was at least engaged, or perhaps had a woman in mind. It was probably one of the perfect looking augment women who lived in his palace in Russia. If he did not have a fiancée, he most definitely had several woman he was sharing his company with in the evenings. Was he a good lover? No, he was most likely a fantastic lover. I wondered if he let them sleep in his arms all night, or if he sent them away once he had finished with them. What did he say in their ears as he made love to them? Did his voice get all deep and husky as he whispered sweet nothings – ?

What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I care about Khan and his life? It didn't matter, none of it mattered except the fact that he would never be able to get to me. Ever. I was just tired, that was it. I was exhausted from my delivery run today and I needed some sleep. That was what was wrong. My mind was running less coherently due to my long day. I would go inside and sleep until I felt refreshed.

I turned around and fished around in my pocket for the keys to my flat. I removed the key and placed it in the door knob, turning it and wiggling it the last little bit until I heard the knob click as it unlocked. I pulled the key out and placed it back into my pocket, and opened the door, stepping inside and letting the door fall shut.

My flat was pitch dark. I always kept the curtains drawn so that no one could look up into my windows and see what I was doing. I had learned to value my privacy in working as a weapons courier. So as I stood in the dark, I sighed and took a step forward to reach for the lamp on my table near the door. But as I inhaled, I caught wind of a scent I had not encountered in some time. The scent of clean and spices.

Augments.

I reached for the knife I always kept in my boot, but I was grabbed from behind in a very strong grip. I fought against the arms that held me firmly in place, but while I was stronger than a normal human, against pureblood Augments I was powerless.

Suddenly the light switched on in the room, and what I saw absolutely depressed me.

Astrix, Saf, and an augment male with ruffled brown hair that I remembered seeing at the bunker, stood in front of me, all with grim looks on their perfect faces.

"Beck, don't strangle her so, remember, we are only to hurt her if she makes things difficult," Astrix ordered to the huge man holding me.

Beck complied and relaxed his grip on me a little so that I didn't feel so much like I was being crushed.

I glanced up at him. He was a muscular, very tall man with wispy dark blond hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. I could not remember if he had been at my father's complex or not. I would have to hear his accent to be sure. He appeared to have the same delicate French facial features all the other augments of French descent seemed to have at the Chrysalis Program bunker.

"You won't touch me," I taunted. "Khan will want me unscathed. If anyone is going to hurt me it'll probably be him."

Saf's frown twisted into a smile. "She's smart, no? And just the tiniest bit sassy. No wonder Khan has been searching like crazy to find her."

"Quiet, Saf! Comments like that do not need to be made," Astrix warned.

"How did you find me? I thought I was way, way, way off the radar," I asked, still in disbelief that they were really here.

Astrix moved to sit on the arm of my crap sofa. "You were. For almost two and half years Master Khan had no idea where you had gone. The last records we could gather from your credit accounts were buying the airline ticket to Berlin. After that we had no idea where you had disappeared too. Then of course Master Khan began to build his kingdom, and he had to lessen his efforts on the search for you, but he never stopped his hunt for you. About six months ago things in the empire settled enough for him to start looking for you again."

"But I thought the trail for me had gone cold," I argued.

"It had," she acknowledged. "But he decided to take a new approach this time. He put a rather large bounty on information leading to or revealing your whereabouts. He figured since you were so well hidden that you had gone underground, so he mostly distributed the bounty to black market merchants and buyers. As you can imagine, several people turned in leads, so it took time to narrow down who was lying and who really knew something. Around that time Master Khan made it my top priority to bring you back. It wasn't hard to figure out which lead was accurate. Your appearance never changed, your name stayed close to the same, and there were several photographs and witness accounts telling of the strange young weapons courier who always delivered their items they had purchased. I made sure it was you, made my case to Master Khan, and now here we are."

I bit my lip nervously, this was it. This was the end of my sense of escapism. I had held out against being found for three years, but it seemed my luck had run out.

"I must admit, Lyza. You do not look well at all. You are thin, obviously lonely, and living in terrible conditions," she mused as she tossed a glance around the room. "You should be glad we found you. We shall take you home, to your family. You will live in luxury, high above the inferior humans that Master Khan rules over. I must admit that I do not like you, but do not all siblings quarrel? I know I have to accept that you and I will be spending more time in each other's presence, so we must accept each other. I suppose in time I may even learn to admire you for your survival skills."

"This isn't fair! Why can't he just let me go?!" I yelled, fighting Beck again.

Saf glared at me, "You are his, why should he?"

Astrix locked eyes with me, disapproval clear in her dark eyes. "Hart, pull the car around. We must get Lyza back."

**So there it is! I know I didn't keep Lyza on the run for long, but I felt like she didn't need to be. I wanted to just have that kind of tension between Khan and Lyza after the three years apart. I also know that altered the timeline of how long Khan ruled his empire and such, but I kinda needed to make it a little AU to fit my plot line. Did you notice that I planted the seed of interest in Khan in Lyza's mind? Of course it'll take that seed a while to grow, but…**

**As always, please review! I appreciate all your support and comments.**

**Kisses,**

**XxLadyVerlacxX**


	5. Chapter 5: Possession

**Unnatural Selection**

**Chapter Five: Possession**

**Sorry for the delay, I have been really sick these past couple of weeks. It started out as what I thought was a cold but it just got worse and worse and it got hard to breathe. I was sleeping all day long and was truly bedridden. I had honestly no energy. I resisted going to the doctor for a while but was glad that I relented. Apparently I had a really bad flu virus but they gave me good drugs that made me feel much better. So no writing happened during my illness. My muse was hibernating. Then there was also the fact that writing the Khan/Lyza reunion was hard because I wanted it to be perfect. Again sorry for the wait.**

**A big thanks to Kitty in a Cornfield and fjkemp for being so supportive! I appreciate your reviews and love you both 3**

**I know the last chapter kinda sucked, so I hope that some Khan/Lyza reunion tension will make up for it ;) **

Saf and Beck stood on either side of me outside the door to Khan's office in his Russian estate. They were both standing stock still, like soldiers awaiting a command from their captain, while I was trying to make myself smaller as I shook with nervousness and some odd tingling feeling. I had no idea what Khan would do to me now that I was back in his ownership. I felt like a stray dog that had been returned to an abusive master.

I mean it was not like he had ever lain a hand on me in the past, in fact most times we had been together he had been protecting me, so why did I fear him? Still, he did have his moments of blind rage, and I could see him hurting me over my little disappearing Houdini act.

At the same time there was that other, almost uncomfortable different feeling. It was more of anticipation and excitement, for reasons I almost did not want to admit. But despite my fear at seeing Khan and what he might o do me as punishment, there was no denying that I wanted him to touch me again, I wanted to feel his hand on my cheek, eliciting that warm feeling in my stomach and breathlessness in my lungs. I did not know what such a sensation meant, and it bothered me that I was naïve to its cause.

The doors to Khan's office opened and Astrix strut through like a peacock on full display, clearly much more at ease with her surroundings, she walked more languidly, and carried herself much more informally.

"I debriefed Master Khan on our mission to London, he summon you two and Hart to him later on, for now, he wants to deal with our little runaway," Astrix told Saf and Beck, eyeing me at the end. "You two may return to rooms and change, get something to eat, whatever you want, you're both getting the night off. Leave Lyza be, she has nowhere to run, unlike at the Chrysalis bunker, she cannot crawl though the vents."

Beck nodded, then silently walked off back down the same hall we'd come in from.

Saf winked at me, "Take care of yourself, kid. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other lots… oh and welcome home!"

He offered me a quick wave and then turned to follow Beck, calling after him.

"He is very friendly," Astrix commented, "If you are ever in need of companionship I am sure Saf will lend you his time."

I nodded, out of all the augments I had met, it seemed like Saf was one I could get along with, he wasn't as dry and stiff as most of the others, like Astrix and Beck. He actually had a personality, kind of similar to what one would expect from a mischievous older brother. He was one I could grow to call family, Astrix and Beck… I didn't know, maybe they would open up to me with time.

Astrix refocused herself, "Now, Master Khan is waiting, go on."

I sighed, and trudged forward, nervous, into the open door that led to Khan's office.

The office was large, with burgundy colored walls and magnificent floor to ceiling windows that revealed the sight of the estate's courtyard. Shelves and shelves of books lined the walls and some large potted ferns sat in the corners of the office. Khan stood tall behind his large cherry wood desk near the windows, watching me.

His hair was slicked back to keep it from fringing into his eyes, he wore a red and gold silk tunic styled after the ancient Mongol military uniform, as well as loose black breeches and calf-high leather boots that were softly molded to his legs. He looked just as predatory as before, that same alluring grace and power haunting the room the way it had when I had first met him. Only then, he had been a lab experiment, now he was emperor of New Asia.

I felt insignificant next to him. No wonder he had been able to conquer so many nations, the people must have fallen to their knees at the sight of him, just meeting his gaze made me feel unequal.

"Lyza, Lyza, Lyza…" His voice, that deep, velvety voice spoke. "You are back home, with us, where you belong. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

I lifted my head, to stare at him wondrously, my voice meek. "Khan… Why couldn't you just let me go? Why did you go through so much trouble to find me? Why am I worth so much to you? I feel so insignificant yet you act like I'm some valuable racehorse."

"I already told you my reason for keeping you around three years ago when we were all still trapped at the bunker. Have you forgotten what I said or do you just choose not to believe me?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "You are worth my efforts to find you."

"I remember," I murmured. "I just wish you had let me stay where I was."

Now Khan looked confused. "Why? You were living in filth, working for underhanded, greedy men, when you should have been here, with myself, and the rest of you family, ruling over the humans. You are better, superior. You proved this by showing me respect when I was considered just a lab rat to everyone else. But you saw through that, you saw me as the king I had the potential to become. I will honor that loyalty with your assured comfort. I was willing to give you anything, including my trust! But you betrayed that idea as soon as you ran away. You were the first hu-… woman I was willing to open up to. I thought after the time we had spent when your father was around that you were someone I could keep by my side. I had hoped… but I should have known better than to trust you. My hopes of your company led me to pain at your escape, at your blatant choice to not be… mine. You were – and still are, a child, Lyza."

I could not respond to that. I did not know what any of his words meant. Why was he so inclined to want to trust me? And even more disturbing, why did the utter obvious pain in his so normally controlled voice make me feel hurt, like I had let him down. Why did I care? Why did I feel the odd urge to prove myself to him? It must have been some manipulative ability, some aura that made people want to follow Khan, to please him. It certainly made sense, after all he was quite clearly a great leader. Sometimes, though, I felt that Khan could psychologically analyze me as well as any shrink, it seemed that he knew me better than anyone else on earth, or maybe that way just the fact that his blood tainted my veins and for that fact I felt some strange connection with him.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Lyza?" He demanded. "You cannot begin to imagine the chaos your disappearance caused, or how much time we spent looking for you. Believe me, finding you was not easy."

I could not afford to piss him off, I needed to lie. I had to tell him that I knew my place was with him and make my escape attempt seem like a chance to sew my wild oats and experience "self-discovery" or whatever. He would buy that, especially if I pleaded for forgiveness. I just needed to make it convincing enough that he would believe my performance. It would be better for me to remain on Khan's good side, especially since I wasn't going anywhere for a while.

"I'm sorry, Khan. I wanted to get away. I mean, I knew that you would find me someday, I never doubted that you would stop searching for me, but I needed a chance to adjust, really adjust to being… to being an augment. I felt I could do that better if I spent some time away, without the pressure of immediate conformity in my new family," I apologized calmly, staring up at him. The crazy thing was, though I was lying, some of it was truth. Seeing him now, I was sorry, I did need time to adjust, and deep down, I think I really did want to return to him, The weird prickly, tingling feeling I'd felt through my body, that electric current I desired to feel when he touched me, I wanted it to happen, all of it.

He saw right through me though, like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"I appreciate your attempt to satiate me, Lyza, I know the truth. You ran because you hated me, because you hated all of us," Khan corrected. "I believe that you will come to accept your new life in time, but until that day happens you will not have my trust. I can see you trying to escape again, so obviously I am going to need to make sure you are somewhere safe at night. Obviously it would be illogical to post a guard on you when you sleep. Instead, you shall sleep with me, in my room. That way if you ever try and leave, I will know. I do not doubt that you will be loyal to me if I treat you as I have promised, but this is for my own peace of mind. I cannot lose you again."

I felt like my world had shattered in that instant. Like everything I thought I had known about life had been broken and strewn across the floor. I had always been alone… always. I could not believe what he had said. He knew that I would be devoted to him if he kept me in his ever addictive presence. The way he treated me, like I mattered more than anything, made me want to bask in his glow. But…_ I_ sleep… in the same room… in the same _bed _as him. Was this my punishment? Was he going to rape me for running away? I held back waterworks as I struggled to maintain my composure. I had never kissed a boy before let alone _slept _with a man. I was not going to let him see how much this revelation of his rattled me.

Khan turned his back to me, "Leave me. I will see you in my – our rooms."

"Yes, Khan," I murmured nervously, exiting the office.

That night, when I was finally tired enough, I let Astrix lead me to Khan's rooms on the fifth floor of the estate. Walking up the stairs onto the landing, I was led down a short hall that ended at a pair of double doors. Inside, the first room was a sitting area with a marble fireplace, and what Astrix described as Khan's "personal" library of works of fiction, great classics, and biographies. I had had no idea that he was such a devoted reader. The walls in all the rooms were the same burgundy color as the office, the flooring cherry wood, the ceiling and trim white. There were two door, the one on the right led to a large bathroom that contained not only a massive walk-in closet full of clothes (some of which I noticed were female that looked about my size) but also a very inviting looking bathtub. The door to the left led to the bedroom. On the left wall a large, comfy looking four poster bed with golden sheets, pillows, and a comforter beckoned. There was also another fireplace, adjoining to the one in the living room, directly across from the bed. In front of the fireplace sat a small sofa and an armchair that had a book lain carefully in the seat. All the rooms had windows, curtained with black lace-like drapes, on the side facing away from the entrance to the rooms that overlooked the most beautiful gardens I had ever seen. Maybe I could get used to living here.

Astrix left me to my own devices and I hurriedly showered, ignoring the tubs lure, and dressed in a long sleeved, v-necked, white nightgown that feel to my knees. I then retreated to the bedroom, trying to decide which side to sleep on. I did not notice Khan creep in behind me.

"I tend to lie more on the right side," his breath tickled my ear.

I jumped headfirst, nearly falling to my face, but between righting myself and the fact that Khan's arms snapped forward and caught me, holding me to his chest like I might just fall over again at the sound of his voice.

I tensed in his grip, both wishing that he would release me and that he would hold me tighter.

"I feel you fear, Lyza," he muttered softly. "Do you think I brought you here to grope you like you are some common whore? Relax. I will not touch you. I will not force myself on you. You're completely safe here. I need you to understand that."

I nodded.

"I am going to let you go. Take whatever side of the bed you wish. I can adapt," he told me, freeing me from his hold.

I stumbled towards the left side of the bed, my nerves subsiding. When I flopped under the covers, my exhaustion took over, and sleep came quickly. I never noticed Khan settling in next to my right and placing one arm protectively over me.

**Short chapter, not exactly how I wanted the length to turn out but I wanted to post this chapter. So so so sorry for the delay. I should have sucked it up and written through the pain. I'm sorry for the waiting period, it's not fair to you guys. Thanks for your patience. I'm going to start Chapter 6 immediately.**

**As usual, reviews are loved!**

**Kisses,**

**XxLadyVerlacxX**


	6. Chapter 6: No Games

**Unnatural Selection**

**Chapter 6: No Games**

**WHEW! Life is killing me right now. I have been doing one thing after another for my AP art class (I'm prepping for my first show the second weekend in November!) and I just got a 5 year old off the track thoroughbred mare that I'm going to spend the next month or two training. She's a lovely little thing but full of sass and will definitely test my ability as a rider.**

**As for Unnatural Selection, I feel bad because I basically spent last week neglecting it, partially because I was going to bed early because I still felt bad from when I was sick. I also was deliberating on what to do with this chapter… I had an idea that I really wasn't sure what to do about, but I decided to act on it. So instead of Lyza, for this chapter we will be seeing the world through Khan's eyes! Hope you like it!**

**(Khan's POV)**

I had had no intention of sparing any human's life when I had realized that I could lead a revolt against the scientists in the Chrysalis bunker. Humans were stupid, they had created us because they desired more. More power, more security, more opportunity, whatever they thought they did not have enough of the wanted more of it. That was why they were inferior. They could not see what was right in front of them and make something of it. Instead they preferred to destroy things, including themselves, and the planet they lived on, so they could receive temporary satisfaction before they would find something else they craved and go on another idiotic rampage.

Naturally when I had decided to spare Lyza's life it had not been part of the plan. She had had me captivated from the moment she had met my gaze. What I had seen in her curious green eyes had been respect, and a deep, almost sacred kind of innocence that had led me to the hindering realization that I would never bear to be able to hurt her.

When we had been forced to travel to market together I had kept her in my sight even as she would stray from my side and get herself into some form of trouble or another. I had had no explicit orders to keep her safe. Lyza thought I did for whenever she thanked me for saving her she would always make it clear she understood that I had to. In reality I had not had to because of her father, but because she was mine, and I would not ever let anyone hurt what was _mine._

It was for the same reason that I had made the somewhat rash decision to have her sleep in my rooms. She was mine, only mine, whether or not she knew or accepted it, and I wanted all other males to know it. To mess with her was to call upon my rage. I would rip any man apart who dared to touch her.

I hoped that in time she would relax and feel comfortable enough around me for me to begin to woo her. She was a virgin, which I knew for sure, for she had absolutely no confidence around men. I did not mind that. The idea that I would be the first and only man to take her both thrilled and awoke the animal in me. It was hard to keep my hands off of her at night sometimes, when she lay only a few inches from me. I had to fight back the fantasies of kissing her senseless, ripping her clothes from her body and then slowly thrusting into her until she screamed for release…

The possession I felt over her was crippling at times. She dwelled in my thoughts almost every moment. There was no denying that I had accepted my… attachment to her, but she had not done the same with me, or if she had, she had not betrayed her feeling thus far. That was what truly worried me, that Lyza would fall into the arms of another man and leave me broken. I honestly could not bear the thought of a life without her. She was a light in the dark waves of my life. Sure I had everything anyone could want, power, loyal friends, family, freedom… but what I desired most was the bright, bouncing twenty-one year old girl who still wore pigtails and had a smile that could make any man fall in love, not that she knew that.

I had almost decapitated my head engineer, Skinner Renou, soon after I got Lyza back in fear that she held some sort of fancy for him. The gangly, Frenchman, with his copper curls and soft features was no match for me in a fight to the death over _my_ woman. Thankfully it had not come to that, Lyza had spoken of him fondly as one would a friend, and I had instantly felt my worries dissipate. It surprised me that the normally somber augment had opened up and been the one that Lyza sought companionship in, but nonetheless I was content with what was occurring. She was settling in and connecting with her new family, which was what I had wanted to occur.

I saw her on a daily basis interacting with several of the others. Beck, who I had made Lyza's personal guard (not that she did not find ways to ditch him when she felt like she wanted to be alone), had spent the first few days shadowing her silently like her normally did with everyone else. But Lyza had surprised me again when she had poked and prodded him until he too had warmed up to her and was putty in her capable hands. I had even seen her make him smile, an occurrence I had only ever witnessed when watching Beck track. She was also on much more civil, dare I even call, warm, terms with Astrix. The two seemed to have resolved whatever differences they had once they realized that they both craved female company in the wild dominance of male augments in the estate. I felt that those two shared more secrets than my entire intelligence division.

I was now much more at ease in the fact that Lyza would not try and run again. She had settled in, laid roots with some of the others, and was very obviously enjoying the spoiling she was receiving at my hands. I allowed her to do whatever she wished during the day, go wherever she wanted (provided she took Beck and one of my other capable fighters with her), and live freely at my estate. I gave her anything she requested, a decision I had not come to regret… yet.

At the moment, I was happy with where Lyza and I were. She was still not as laid back I had wished that she would be when she and I were in private, but some of the tension she used to carry around me was gone. She would now make eye contact with me instead of constantly staring at the floor, she did not cringe when I came towards or touched her, and she did not retreat to the absolute edge of the bed every night to rest. In fact, I had come to discover that she was quite the rough sleeper. She would toss and flail if she was not perfectly comfortable, sometimes throwing herself over top of me in her unconscious search for the perfect sleeping spot. Since I retired after her and rose before her, I had taken to pulling her to me and holding her against my body to keep her still at night so I could doze somewhat peacefully as she steadied in my arms, knowing that the likelihood of her discovering this behavior was rare since she would generally slept undisturbed for _hours_.

Though I finally felt as if my domestic life was finally stabilizing, I was not so happy with the state of the world.

My brow furrowed in anger as I listened to what Second Commander, Jazz, was telling me in his daily report. Heinzel, the augment Emperor of New Europe had blatantly ignored our treaty and violated my border of what used to be the far eastern section of Russia. According to Jazz, he wanted to conquer more territory, and he was not alone, other augment leaders were staging military attacks, trying to depose one another. It was foolish, stupid. If we weakened ourselves a human rebellion was completely predicatable.

I wished I could avoid the war. I hated the idea of encouraging rebellion in the wartime economy that would be sure to come, as well as pulling most of my augments into the army, leaving the rule in the hands of the few humans who had pledged their service to me. But I would not allow my reign to be tested by others! How dare Heinzel take what I had rightfully won! If he wished to challenge my superiority by invoking war, it was a war he would get, and he would lose greatly. I would destroy him, and add his territory to my own as retribution for his actions. He was not as fierce warrior as I was.

"We shall make plans to attack Heinzel's main conquest force," I told Jazz, who was waiting patiently for my orders. "Keep everything – the plan, the preparations – secret. I do not want anyone on edge. I also do not trust some of the servants to keep their mouths shut. Until I officially declare war on New Europe, keep everything quiet. Understood?"

"Of course, Kaiser," Jazz nodded. "Is there anything else you needed me for, or is that it?"

"No, return to your duties, Jazz. Actually, please send Lyza to me before she eats, I would like her to take lunch with me in my office today," I requested, sitting back in my desk chair.

Jazz raised an eyebrow quizzically, "If I can find the little minx. Though I can almost guarantee she and Skinner are off on a gallop around the estate."

I laughed, Lyza loved the all the beautiful horses in the stable, Skinner did not. She had been in the process of teaching him to ride and, apparently, it was not going well. Lyza was very persistent though. She had shared with me one evening as we lay in bed that she had been riding since she could walk. She had had her own horse back in Maine, a thoroughbred that she had been particularly fond of. She had been very good, her tone was confident when she would describe her riding exploits. Unfortunately she had had to sell him when she was moved to the bunker. She had not ridden in the three years since then but upon the discovery of the stables I kept, she had whole-heartedly returned to her passion. It was because of Lyza's love of being an equestrian that I had expanded that barn a few weeks ago, importing two dozen new warmblood sport horses.

"Indeed, just listen for the sound of Skinner cursing in French," I joked.

He turned, "Skinner is girl, Kaiser."

Once Jazz left, I returned what I had been doing before he had interrupted me, reading Charles Dickens' _A Tale of Two Cities_. Predictably, I found it much harder to concentrate on his eloquent writing with the looming thought of battle and strategies on my mind. The mere idea of war had my blood racing with excitement. War was normally no game, but with the utter lack of happening in New Asia, I had not tasted battle in some time. As much as I despised the risks this war contained, I was ready to kill, it was what I had been made to do.

So I gently closed the novel on my desk, placing it on top of a small stack of papers in the corner. Then I began clearing space for Lyza and I to eat. It was as I was doing this that one of the human servants that I employed at the estate entered my office with a tray of food.

I motioned for her to set it down on my desk, and she balanced the tray the rest of the way, placing it where my mess had been. I looked it over to be sure she had brought two meals so that Lyza would have something for herself, and was satisfied to see that my instructions had been followed. The woman scurried from the room, ready to retreat back to the kitchens or wherever the hell she spent her time in my employ.

Lyza did not make me wait long, she crashed into the room, tripping over her own feet as she hurried to shut the door, making the corner of my mouth twist up a little. She was by no means graceful, despite her successful augmentation. I did not mind though, it was almost relieving to know that the awkward girl I had shadowed protectively in the Turkish streets those years ago was still there.

"I came as quickly as I could once Jazz found me. What did I do wrong?" she asked, her doe-like eyes wide with worry. Normally I did not summon her to my presence, so she probably had assumed that I was angry with her.

"I merely wanted you to have lunch with me, I feel I do not see enough of you," I reassured her calmly, gesturing for her to take the seat in front of me. "Did Jazz not tell you that?"

She shrugged, and moved to sit down, "Jazz never says much to me. He told me you required me in your office immediately, and then stalked away. Whenever I see him he usually has very stiff upper lip attitude."

I did not respond. It was true, my closer circle of officers had accepted Lyza's presence, but they were very serious around her. I suspected that it was because they knew my intentions toward her and figured that someday she would be an authority over them as their Empress, or maybe it was just because her outgoing personality was strange to them. None of the other augments they had been raised with were quite like Lyza. My first commander, Valen, had admitted to me that he did not know how to act around Lyza because on the one hand, she had been born human, and he hated humans, but wanted to be attached to her because she was quite likeable and now one of us. In the end, he had chosen to regard her with a very deep respect, since she had given all the augments that when she was living trapped in the bunker like the rest of us. As long as no one was openly hostile or vicious to her I did not care how they acted.

"So what were you doing when Jazz found you?" I inquired, passing her a bowl of fried rice with egg, a meal I knew she had an inability to resist at times.

Lyza stared at me quizzically, obviously wondering if she was in trouble for something again. "I was with Skinner… at the stable. Why?"

I took a bite of my own rice. "No reason specifically, kitten. I was merely curious."

"Oh," was all she responded, though I noticed some of the worry leave her expression. "You've been busy lately, I haven't really gotten to see much of you."

"I have been quite occupied in political matters, it is not easy running an empire," I replied cordially, realizing the slight ache in her words once I had already spoken. "Why, do you miss me?"

She blushed at my forwardness, "I find I am quite lonely in the evenings after dinner. Normally you and I would sit by the fire and talk or you read and I doodle… I miss that."

I frowned, I loved it when she admitted intimate things like that to me but wished that she would then press the matter further by asking me to skip a meeting and stay with her instead. I wanted her to desire my presence enough that she would beg of me to forget my duties and spoil her with my time. We danced on the edge of fine line between politeness and seduction. I sought to push her over the side to what I _needed_ but I feared that in doing that I might force her back to the stiff uncomfortableness that she come here with.

"Soon, kitten, I hope to rejoin you at night, but for the moment I must wait for the world tensions to ease themselves out so that my job is not as demanding of what of my time that should be yours," I promised softly, my voice dipping a little lower.

"Is it because there's going to be a war?" she asked hesitantly.

I raised an eyebrow, she was not supposed to have known about that so that she would not have had to fret. "Who told you of the war?" I closed my eyes, hiding my anger at whomever had let this slip.

"No one told me!" she rushed to correct me word choice. "Skinner merely guessed that we would be going to war because of the blatant threats Heinzel of New Europe has been making towards you. Besides, the North and South African leaders have engaged in a war as well. It seems like a fight is coming."

"I cannot dent that war will probably occur, maybe soon, maybe not. It depends on whether or not Heinzel will back down once I rise to his challenge," I sighed.

Now Lyza looked upset, "Will you have to go away?"

"Do you want me to go away?"

She wiped the expression of sadness off her face, replacing it with something much more nonchalant. "No, uh, I was just wondering whether I'll be able to wear just camisoles and my underwear to bed instead of legitimate pants and shirts anytime soon if you won't be around."

My mouth twisted into a Cheshire cat grin. "You could wear that little to bed any night, kitten, I would not mind _one little bit_," I purred almost seductively, eliciting a small shiver from her.

"Don't push it," she warned.

I laughed, she had no idea how much I wished I could.

Later that night, I returned to my rooms. Like normal, Lyza was already buried under the covers in the middle of the bed, fast asleep. I redressed in a pair of loose fitting exercise pants I use to use, leaving my torso bare before lifting the covers to lie next to Lyza. But when I raised the sheets I was rewarded with a very pleasant surprise.

Lyza wore only a plain black camisole and a short pair of hot pink boycott boxers, every other inch of her creamy skin was unclothed, and my eyes drank it all up.

As I slid in beside her she shivered a little at the cool air and her green eyes opened, finding my gaze almost immediately.

"Don't have your way with me tonight, okay?"

I bit back an innuendo and smiled gently. "I swore to you that you were safe here. Go to sleep, Lyza."

Then she did something she had never done before. She scooted closer, closing the remaining inches between us, so that she could lay her head on my shoulder, curling against my naked chest.

"Goodnight, Khan."

**ALRIGHT! Hope you like this chapter. It was really fun to write from Khan's perspective, and it really illustrates what I wanted everyone to understand (because Lyza obviously doesn't). Khan developed affection for Lyza from the get go. That affection has definitely blossomed into something more, though I'm not sure he completely comprehends that he is in love with her. Lyza is comfortable with Khan now, she does not love him yet though, as we still have plenty of ways to go before she accepts her feelings. Anyway, I just thought we needed some Khan/Lyza fluff at this point. More fluff to come. Please review with opinions/more situational fluff ideas. **

**Kisses,**

**XxLadyVerlacxX **


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